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16 July 2007 : Column 42W—continued
Films: Violence
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the change in the level of violence portrayed in films, particularly of torture, in the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [149647]
Margaret Hodge: None. Under the terms of the Video Recordings Act, I have designated the president and vice presidents of the British Board of Film Classification as the authority responsible for considering content and classifying videos. They also consider cinema films on behalf of local authorities. The Board addresses the nature and degree of violence through the classification system.
Gun Sports: Olympic Games
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress is being made in discussions with the Home Department on Olympic target pistol shooters; and if he will make a statement. [150098]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Following discussions between officials from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Home Office, a proposal has been put forward to Ministers at the Home Office and a decision remains pending.
Olympic Games: Greater London
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 14 June 2007, Official Report, column 1178W, on the Olympic Games, in what form the ongoing advice provided by KPMG on the cost of the Olympics was received. [146541]
Tessa Jowell: I have been asked to reply as Minister for the Olympics.
KPMG provided advice under contract as part of a team within the then Interim Olympic Delivery Authority and later the Olympic Delivery Authority.
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 20 June 2007, Official Report, column 1783W, on Olympic Games: Greater London, in what ways the advice remains pertinent to the formulation of Government policy. [146950]
Tessa Jowell: I have been asked to reply as Minister for the Olympics.
The advice provided by KPMG is being used to inform our ongoing strategy for managing the Olympic project and costs which will be kept under close scrutiny throughout.
Royal Opera House: Directors
Lynne Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what mechanisms are in place to monitor the fulfilment by the chief executive of
his contractual obligations as full-time chief executive of the Royal Opera House (ROH); and whether the contract requires that the ROH is informed of the hours spent by the chief executive in employment outside the ROH. [149525]
Margaret Hodge: This is a matter for the chair and board of the Royal Opera House.
Sports: Finance
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what public funding has been made available for sports clubs and facilities in Ribble Valley; and what proportion of these funds is earmarked for Paralympic sports. [149064]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Sport England has allocated £3.6 million to a wide range of community sports projects in the Ribble Valley. This funding has attracted an additional £3.1 million of inward investment into sport.
The Ribble Valley sports projects are designed for use by everyone in the community and, as such, no fixed proportion of the Sport England funding has been earmarked specifically for Paralympic sports.
The projects do, however, cover a number of different sports, including rugby, athletics, tennis and sailing, that are included in the lists of both Olympic and Paralympic sports for 2012.
Sports: Governing Bodies
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will list the sport national governing bodies attending the Labour Party fundraiser at Wembley on 12 July. [150096]
Mr. Sutcliffe: DCMS does not hold the information requested.
Sportsgrounds: Seating
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make it his policy to change the regulations to allow safe standing at football grounds; and if he will make a statement. [149500]
Mr. Sutcliffe: We currently have no plans to amend the policy of requiring grounds in the top two divisions in England to be all-seater.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has to meet the Football Supporters' Federation to discuss its report on safe standing at football grounds; and if he will make a statement. [149501]
Mr. Sutcliffe: DCMS has met and is in regular contact with the Football Supporters' Federation but we have no plans to meet the FSF to discuss their report.
It is Government's view that all-seater stadiums, along with effective stewarding and policing, is the most effective way to ensure spectator safety in the top two English divisions.
Tickets: Touting
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether he plans to extend the existing protection from ticket touts to other sports; and if he will make a statement. [150097]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The restriction on sale of tickets for the 2012 London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games is a requirement of the International Olympic Committee. Sales of tickets for football matches are regulated to maintain the segregation of fans for reasons of public disorder. The Department is not planning to extend these measures or propose new legislation at this stage, but will consider a case for events of national significance and the future recommendations arising from the recent Select Committee inquiry.
Tourists: Expenditure
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent by (a) domestic and (b) foreign tourists in England in each year since 1997. [148828]
Margaret Hodge: The tables show expenditure on visits to England by (a) UK residents where this included an overnight stay and (b) overseas residents.
| Expenditure by UK residents on overnight visits in England | |
| Current prices (£ million) | |
| (1) The methodology for the UKTS changed in 2005 meaning that comparisons with previous years should be treated with caution. This change occurred due to concerns with the quality of 2004 data, which are thought to be an under-representation of the true position. There was also a change in survey methodology in 2000, though figures for 1997-99 have been reworked to allow comparisons with later data. Source: UK Tourism Survey (National Tourist Boards)(1) | |
| Expenditure by overseas residents during visits to England | |
| Current prices (£ million) | |
| Source: International Passenger Survey (ONS) | |
In addition, a substantial number of day visits are made to, or within, England. In 2005 an estimated £37 billion was spent on tourism day visits in England by English residents. It is not possible to provide a time series for this information as the surveys are run intermittently.
Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service: Finance
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if his Department will provide funding for the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service to enable dispute resolution services to be made available to parties in employment disputes at an earlier stage. [149495]
Mr. McFadden: The Government's proposals for the way forward on all aspects of dispute resolution, including the provision of ACAS conciliation services in the early stages of disputes, will be published in due course.
Conditions of Employment: Parents
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform which business leaders he and the former Secretary of State for Trade and Industry have met in the last 12 months to discuss family-friendly working practices. [148463]
Mr. McFadden: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State and other Ministers regularly discuss aspects of family-friendly working practices and legislation with business leaders, both in formal meetings and in the margins of other discussions.
Departments: Public Expenditure
Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will provide the revised budget for his newly-formed Department for 2007-08, broken down by main budget heading. [147612]
Mr. Thomas [holding answer 4 July 2007]: The revised budget for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform will be set out in the Winter Supplementary Estimate.
Departments: Public Transport
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what incentives he has considered to encourage staff in his Department to use public transport. [148797]
Mr. Thomas: The main incentive the Department offers are interest-free loans for season tickets for travel to work. Use of public transport is encouraged by Departmental policies including limited car parking, flexible working, encouraging use of public transport during the course of business travel and making use of travel websites.
Disciplinary Proceedings: Regulation
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if his Department will bring forward proposals to simplify the rules governing employment disciplinary procedures. [149472]
Mr. McFadden: My Department has recently consulted on simplifying employment dispute resolution, and will publish its proposals in due course.
Electronic Equipment: Waste Disposal
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many and what percentage of distributors of electrical and electronic equipment are members of a distributor take-back scheme. [149072]
Malcolm Wicks: Over 2,500 retailers have joined the distributor take-back scheme accounting for more than 75 per cent. of EEE retailing by sales.
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many and what percentage of distributors of electrical and electronic equipment have initiated a take-back yourself scheme. [149074]
Malcolm Wicks: All retailers of electrical and electronic equipment are obliged to offer in-store take-back if they are not a member of the distributor take-back scheme. Over 2,500 distributors have joined the DTS representing around 75 per cent. of electrical and electronic equipment sales.
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what guidance his Department provided on the waste electrical and electronic equipment regulations to distributors of electrical and electronic equipment before 1 July; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of that guidance. [149075]
Malcolm Wicks: The Department published a distributor factsheet and non-statutory guidance on the UK WEEE regulations in February 2007. Further guidance on the role of distributors was issued in April to explain how distributors can fulfil their obligations under the WEEE system. We will continue to update the guidance in light of experience by distributors, who have not raised any significant concerns over the guidance as it stands.
Google: Doubleclick
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether he has had discussions with (a) the Information Commissioner on the issues of privacy and data protection in the context of Google’s proposed acquisition of Doubleclick and (b) the Office of Fair Trading on monitoring of the online marketplace and its effect on consumers, innovation and prices; and if he will make a statement. [149526]
Mr. Timms: I have had no such discussions; either with the Information Commissioner or the Office of Fair Trading. Privacy and data protection are matters for the Ministry of Justice. The regulatory control of mergers is a matter for the independent competition authorities with cases considered on the grounds of impact on competition in the relevant market.
The Office of Fair Trading has recently completed a study on internet shopping. Their report available at http://www.oft.gov.uk/advice_and_resources/resource_base/market-studies/internet concludes that the rapid growth of internet shopping is a success story that benefits both consumers and businesses across a range of markets, but that both could do more to make the most of opportunities it provides.
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